Huntingburg Council: Drainage issues to be brought to county
The drainage issues affecting the residents north of the future site of a 147 workforce housing development may have been further alleviated after an engineer’s findings were discussed at the Huntingburg Council meeting Thursday evening.
After the announcement of the new housing development, Hunters Crossing, residents of Red Bud Court voiced concerns of flooding from a ditch running along the north side of the development. The ditch has already been causing problems for the residents, and they were worried the development would exacerbate the problem.
According to Neikirk Engineering, the firm hired to engineer the development, the new subdivision would include a retention pond and reroute drainage from the paved areas to the pond. Currently, all the drainage from the field flows downhill into the ditch.
Additionally, the work being completed to accommodate the development includes enlarging a box culvert near a lift station which should ease the flow of water.
Other recommended changes include removing two hard turns in the drainage ditch to allow easier water flow.
One item the firm determined during their preliminary studies of the drainage itch indicated the ditch need cleaned out downstream. According to the engineers, of the 2.25 mile of ditch leading from the development, about 1.52 miles are outside the city limit. Those 8000 feet need to be cleaned out to allow for better water drainage.
The City plans on forwarding the information about the ditches condition to the County Ditch Commission — a group comprised of commissioners and the county engineer — for them to potentially take action.
According to city attorney Phil Schneider, the ditches need to be cleaned and in some areas, enlarged.
The council also took the following actions:
-Approved $20,000 from the Revolving Loan Fund to be loaned at a 3 percent annual interest rate to Gehlhausen’s Flowers and Gifts owned by Linda and Duane Gehlhausen to go towards the purchase of the building they are currently leasing at 414 E 4th St.
-Approved the budget of $10,055,129 for 2016 with a tax rate of $1.17 per $100 assessed value. An increase of 1 cent over last year’s budget. Councilman Glen Kissling abstained from voting due to his work on creating the budget.
-Approved an ordinance for city employees’ salaries. City employees will receive a 1 percent increase across the board with an opportunity to earn an additional .5 percent through performance evaluations.
-Approved the committee members for the scoring of the 4th Street Heritage Trail project. The committee is comprised of Mayor Denny Spinner, Councilman Steve McPherron, City Planning Director Paul Lake, Stellar Committee member Kathy Young and 4th St. business owner Earl Carter. They will review the proposals submitted by firms for consideration for the planning and engineering of the trail.
-Approved a payment in lieu of taxes for the Huntingburg Housing Authority in the amount of $7,079.64. This is a voluntary payment made by the housing authority, and the refunded money will help pay for utility work at the Huntingburg Housing Authority.
-Approved marking the Ninth Street extension with the appropriate traffic signs. Ninth Street will be a yield at the intersection with Moenkhaus Drive; the speed limit will be 35 mph between Styline and Moenkhaus; and parking restrictions will be added to the new road. The road is now being used by Touch of Class employees.
